Tunisia’s Dignity and Freedom shall prevail.

Tunisia’s Dignity and Freedom shall prevail.

26 of July 2021, Tunis.

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights follows up with great interest the recent events in our country and the decisions taken and developments in the situation.

First, it is obvious that the 25 July protests were different from the typical and usual protests, they were the result of a course of political and economic failure and an expression of the anger inherent in the frustrating political performance that took place over the real victories of the Tunisian people in dignity, freedom and social justice.

In recent years, the political parties that took control over the country devoted their efforts to entrench opportunism, corruption, fostering impunity, criminalizing the demand for rights, reducing the revolution and its aspirations in their mere arrival at government, and the safeguard of their interests along with the interests of its supporters and allies.

The President of the Republic’s adoption of such decisions received considerable sympathy, particularly from social groups that are deeply affected by the unjust policies. His decisions reflect an abuse of the Constitution, preceded by those who present themselves today as victims of such decisions.

The demands to preserve the values of freedom, dignity, social justice, equality before the law and non-impunity have proved to be the pillars of genuine mobilization, collective resistance, solidarity, concrete and active social movements in recent years.

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights:

• Holds full responsibility for the path into which our country has slipped on the ruling political class and what it has done, especially in recent years and during the health crisis, for devoting itself to inequality, impunity, and ignorance of citizens’ interests.
• Affirms that the crisis in our country is essentially economic and social and calls upon social, civil and democratic forces that believe in the values of freedom, equality and social justice to build bridges between them and to be prepared to influence and improve the adopted policies. And to work on the promotion of new development policies that serve the majority, not the minority, and to break free from the dogmatic of the neoliberal ideology against which many social groups today revolted and which economists consider to be the cause of deepening poverty and inequality.
• Demands that the President of the Republic to draw up a clear road map after the events of 25 July, making it a turning point for establishing rights and freedoms that meet the aspirations of the Tunisian people, which they have expressed during the course of the Tunisian revolution.
• Emphasis on its commitment to the democratic life as a framework for civil political conflict.
• Calls upon all democratic and civil forces and national organizations to work together and propose a road map to emerge from the crisis by respecting democracy and human rights and addressing any violations or attempts to return to tyranny.

The Tunisian people, along with their youths, civil and social forces, have proved their entitlement to freedom and dignity and have affirmed their commitment to their rights, despite the failure of the political elites to take concrete steps towards cutting off with corruption and violations, and to reduce regional injustice and social marginalization. Today, in the face of the data mentioned above, we fear another failure to the aspirations of the Tunisian people in a State where dignity and social justice are achieved.

Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.

President, Abdulrahman Al-Hathili.